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We can’t protect our planet, and the people who depend on it, unless we understand it.

Our supplies of fresh water are dwindling. The sources of our food are becoming more and more uncertain. Our planet is warming. And hundreds of millions of people across the globe still live in poverty.

At Conservation International, we believe that all of these problems are bound together — and that science is fundamental in finding the solutions. Our scientists are making discoveries and developing tools that help governments and businesses value the critical links between nature and human well-being. We’re carrying out science that makes a difference, for people and for nature.

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EditItem Text:CI’s scientists are studying the most important places on Earth — the lands and waters that provide our food, our water and the air we breathe. We’re collecting data that helps us answer two equally important questions: Where are we living sustainably with nature? And where are we not?

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EditItem Text:Individuals, countries and companies all benefit from a healthy planet. At CI, we’re coming up with innovative ways to document and quantify these benefits. Armed with this data, we can make the case to governments, businesses and others that it’s in their own best interest to protect the planet that provides for us.

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EditItem Text:How can people thrive without wrecking the planet that makes life possible? It’s a tough question, but we’re working to find solutions. CI’s scientists are helping countries design policies and actions that offer economic and social benefits to people, even as they protect the natural resources that are critical to our long-term health and prosperity.

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EditText:Our scientists have published more than 760 peer-reviewed articles, with more than 10% of these papers in top-ranked scientific journals like Nature, Science, Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences and PLoS One. The rigorous peer-review process ensures that our research conforms to the highest scientific standards.

EditText: What we measure influences what we do. If we measure the wrong thing, the decisions we make can be flawed, even harmful. So at CI, we’ve given a lot of thought to the way we measure our success. Our science team has landed on a unique, human-focused set of criteria that will help us determine where to place our efforts, track progress toward our goals and communicate the results of our work.READ MORE: Metrics

EditText: In 2012, CI and our partners launched the Ocean Health Index, the world’s first comprehensive, global assessment of the ocean and the benefits it provides to people. With information from more than 100 scientific databases, the Index is a treasure trove of information on marine health. And it’s not just data for data’s sake. Governments, communities and anyone else can use the Index to inform policy decisions and protect one of our most valuable resources — the sea.READ MORE: The Ocean Health Index

EditText: How can we provide enough food and water for a growing population without endangering the planet that makes it possible? Our Vital Signs program is helping to answer that question. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, CI and our partners are collecting data on the things that matter when it comes to agriculture and healthy ecosystems. By monitoring everything from soil quality and the status of pollinators to crop yields and household nutrition, and then analyzing the data we collect, we’re helping leaders and farmers understand why sustaining the land is essential to sustaining farms and livelihoods.READ MORE: Vital Signs

EditText: Business account for profits and losses. Governments calculate their GDPs. But today, we fail to account for the value of the natural world that makes our economies possible. If humanity is to thrive, we need to change this way of thinking, and CI’s scientists are working to show how we can do it. Under a pilot project in San Martin, Peru, we’re working closely with the Peruvian government to not just understand the value of nature but to make it a factor in decisions that affect peoples’ lives.READ MORE: Valuing and Accounting for Natural Capital

EditText: We all depend on nature. And the first step in sustaining it is, quite literally, putting it on the map. Based on decades of research and our close partnerships with stakeholders on the ground, Conservation International’s scientists are developing tools to identify and value Earth’s “reservoirs of natural capital” — the places that clean our water, support our food supplies, regulate our climate and safeguard Earth's diverse species. By mapping these ecosystems, quantifying the services they provide and identifying the people and sectors they benefit, we’re helping governments and businesses realize that it’s in their own best interest to protect these critical ecosystems.